A Psychiatric Review of Symptoms by the American Academy of Family Physicians

This work by the author of the article below provide useful tools for quick and fairly accurate examination of symptoms which can lend a provisional psychiatric diagnosis. That being said, interviewing techniques can be used to increase the accuracy of self-report but collateral information from physiological evidence and other sources (other clinicians, family, etc) greatly improves the accuracy of these evaluations.

Please link to the site for the full article.
The Psychiatric Review of Symptoms: A Screening Tool for Family Physicians

DANIEL J. CARLAT, M.D.,
Anna Jacques Hospital,
Newburyport, Massachusetts

The psychiatric review of symptoms is a useful screening tool for identifying patients who have psychiatric disorders. The approach begins with a mnemonic encompassing the major psychiatric disorders: depression, personality disorders, substance abuse disorders, anxiety disorders, somatization disorder, eating disorders, cognitive disorders and psychotic disorders. For each category, an initial screening question is used, with a positive response leading to more detailed diagnostic questions. Useful interviewing techniques include transitioning from one subject to another rather than abruptly changing subjects, normalization (phrasing a question to convey to the patient that such behavior is normal or understandable) and symptom assumption (phrasing a question to imply that it is assumed the patient has engaged in such behavior). The psychiatric review of symptoms is both rapid and thorough, and can be readily incorporated into the standard history and physical examination. For More.......

Comments

Unknown said…
This is such a good post.Thanks for sharing.Keep it up!

- psychiatry beverly ma

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